


What Does Love Sound Like?

by Vesper_Vigil



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Hospitalization, Loss of Virginity, Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Praise Kink, Sex Toys, Sugar Baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:00:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23240617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesper_Vigil/pseuds/Vesper_Vigil
Summary: Alexis Reed is a successful CEO and engineer in a materials and design company.  Her life is going pretty good, and she thinks that she has things totally planned out.  Enter Mackenzie Whitmore, who's life never was and probably never will be great and who has no idea where her life is headed.  Unfortunate circumstances bring the two together and it can only be described as dumb luck that these two idiots learn that they each deserve better things in life, and those better things are definitely each other.  Bring on the sexual tension, bad jokes, and tooth-rotting fluff, this tale promises a good, heartwarming and potentially cheek-flushing story of two girls who are just trying to find out what love really sounds like.
Relationships: Alexis Reed/Mackenzie Whitman, OFC/OFC
Kudos: 6





	1. Chocolate and Couriers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, dutiful readers! Please give this story a try, because I really think it's going to be a good one. It might take a couple chapters to get where I want to go, but I'm also open to any and all suggestions that you guys have. This is a first attempt at fluff/smut, so yikes. I'm down for any advice you got... Anyway, enjoy!

Alexis Reed liked to consider herself a responsible person. She always woke up at precisely 5:45 am, right when her alarm went off. She never slept in, and god forbid she even think about that snooze button. A balanced breakfast was always followed by an early morning run and a quick shower before she left for work. As CEO of a materials and design company, the civil engineer prided herself in her good work ethic and the safe environment for her employees. Alexis never forgot someone’s birthday, and she always made it a point to remember everyone’s name all the way up to her office on the top floor of the building.

However, if there was one thing that made all of her better judgement fly out the window, it was definitely chocolate. And pretty girls, but chocolate was certainly the heavier vice. No matter what form it came in, Alexis just couldn’t resist the smooth, sinful dessert, and that was proving to be an issue today. As Alexis strode into the front doors of her company’s building, she could smell something freshly baked and immediately started searching for the source once her shoes hit the tiled floor of the lobby. From the reception desk, her clerk, Ari, giggled. They waved a hand as a good morning gesture.

“Morning, Alex! I’d tell you that someone left you some brownies as a ‘Happy Monday’ gift, but I think you already know that.”

Ari was the first face everyone saw when coming into the company building, and their cheerful and friendly disposition was the reason why Alexis had hired them in the first place. Even on a Monday morning, work was never a labor of hardship when Ari was there to greet you with a smile and a warm word. 

Alexis approached the front desk. She never set a regulated dress code for her employees other than clothes that actually fit and were decent, but today Ari was wearing a black suit and green tie that nicely contrasted with their sandy blonde hair. It made Alex feel a little hobo-ish in her jeans, band T-shirt, and sneakers. But, she wore what she liked and she wore what she pleased. 

Upon reaching the desk, Alexis peered over the lip to see a plate of brownies sitting innocently on the table surface. And they were still warm. The phone rang, and Ari made to answer it. As they reached for the phone, they turned and whispered to Alexis as they picked up the receiver.

“Calvin left them for you. He says just one, knowing you. Happy Monday!”

With that, they began answering the phone and left a silent invitation for Alexis to grab a treat and continue on up to her office. And she did just that, munching on the brownie on her walk to the elevator, the ride up 19 floors, and on the short traverse to her office. Along the way, she greeted several employees by name and had to accept a tissue from one of them, as chocolate had somehow made its way onto her upper lip where her tongue could not reach. She tried.

The day went pretty smoothly for a Monday. After starting her day off with a nice, nutritious, fudgy delight, a day full of board meetings, project plannings, and report readings went off without a hitch and before she knew it, the clock was slowly closing in on 6 pm. Ari had come in at one point to suggest lunch, but Alex, immersed in checking calculations from a construction contract, had only agreed half-consciously and had proceeded to grab a protein shake out of the mini-fridge she kept under her desk. Sure Ari had then gone ahead and had begun to beat Alexis over the head with the empty bottle once she had drained it, but they’d left her to her own devices once she’d promised to get an actual dinner once she finished her work.

And now that hour had come. From her office, Alexis could see the autumn sun begin to dip down below the Michigan skyline. She reclined her chair and brought her hands up to undo the hair tie that had kept her curly hair in a manageable bun all day. She pulled until the band slipped away and her brown locks came tumbling down. Sighing in relief that the mane had been unleashed, Alex opened a new tab on her computer and complied with Ari’s afternoon command. She began to see what food was available nearby. Living in Grand Rapids, a wide variety of food was never scarce. The only issue one had was deciding what manner of food they wanted, which was the problem Alex was facing now.

Having decided that a greasy and unhealthy burger was the way to go, Alexis put the order in to be delivered to the office and set about cleaning up the clutter that had slowly accumulated over the course of the day. Avery, her PA, stopped in at some point to collect some files that needed to be delivered and only shook his head as he emptied the trash can that only contained bottles and bottles of protein shakes. Some smart-ass remark resulted in both of them flipping the other person off, and then resulted in giggles and a ‘see you tomorrow’. 

Finally, a text notification sent Alex racing towards the elevator with the promise of food in the lobby. It seemed that everyone had taken their leave at 5 pm, and the majority of the offices were vacant as Alexis rode the elevator down to the first floor. When the doors dinged open, she was able to see Ari still manning their post at the front desk, with a little figure swamped in a raincoat and baseball hat standing a few feet from the desk. Alex hadn’t even realized that it had begun to rain outside, and now she felt a prickle of guilt at having someone bring her food in this weather when she herself could have just grabbed it on the way home. Internally wincing, the woman stepped out of the elevator and walked towards where Ari was trying to carry on a nice conversation with the courier.  
Alex came to a stop just shy of the desk and smiled at Ari when they raised their eyebrows in greeting. 

“Really, Alexis? Burgers again? It’s a good thing you’re young and active. If I ate the way you did, I’d have a new job at this company. I’d be the demolition wrecking-ball.”

With that, they turned to continue whatever work they had been completing on their computer. Alexis turned to the courier. She couldn’t make much out under the oversized jacket, but dripping jeans and sodden shoes poked out below the hem. The courier held a partially-wet paper bag in one hand, and made to remove their baseball cap with the other. And Alex’ breath hitched as full lips, a pert nose, and baby-blue eyes came into view. The girl couldn’t have been older than 21, and Alexis could do nothing as she set the cap on the desk to reach into her pocket for a slip of paper. 

“Ms. Reed?”

The girl read from the paper, and Alexis blinked once before nodding dumbly. Honestly, why was she acting this way? For god’s sake, she wasn’t an awkward teenager anymore. She should at least be capable of a few words, right? Damn chocolate and pretty girls. Alexis was a sucker for both, and neither were good for her.

Either not noticing or admonishing Alex’ inner dilemma, the girl extended her hand to give Alex the paper bag containing her order. She smiled at Alex as she handed the bag over, and damn if her heart didn’t just sink into her shoes. Clearly still on the job, the girl retrieved her hat from Ari’s desk. 

“Have a good evening!”

And she was gone. Just like that. Out the door and down the street in a matter of seconds. Alexis still held her arm outstretched, bag in hand. To her side, Ari snorted. 

“Ok, Bambi. You might want to get that ‘deer in the headlights’ look off your face before someone else sees you. If you wanted to talk to her, you might have wanted to try opening your mouth. That is how words are formed, right?”

Alex grumbled a little as she opened her bag to check her order. Somehow, the burger and fries didn’t seem as appetizing before, now that she had different sort of meal on her mind. Sighing, Ari began logging off their computer. The work day was done, and it was high time they all go home after a productive day.

“The good thing about technology today,” Ari began. “Is that couriers usually have their names and numbers listed in the order details. And that’s all the help I’m offering you there, Alex. I leave the rest in your potentially-capable hands.”

They grabbed their bag from under the desk and left, leaving Alexis to figure out her new found problems by herself. She fished the burger out of the bag and turned to slide down the side of the desk to sit on the tiled floor below. Crossing her legs in front of her, Alex placed the food bag in her lap and made to maneuver her phone out of her back pocket, which was a tricky business when one’s left hand was occupied by a burger one’s buttcheeks were on the ground. But, she managed and pulled up the details from her order. Never being quite tech-savvy, it took a few minutes. But, all the same, Alexis found what she was looking for. She locked her phone once more, placing it beside her as she took a big bite out of her now cold burger. Chewing, she let her head fall backwards until it hit the wood of the desk behind her.

Mackenzie. Alexis’ new wet dream had a name. Another bite of her burger, and Alex made a pact with herself to start adding on miles to her morning run, because she intended to be ordering a lot of take out food from now on.


	2. Sometimes, Life Isn't Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to meet Mackenzie and the horrible life that was dealt to her.

Sometimes, life was good. Sometimes, life was just an asshole and you wondered what you had done to piss it off enough to place you in whatever shit situation you were in. This was exactly what Mackenzie was thinking now. Sure, she had never been entirely virtuous and perfect. She was human, and did exactly what was to be expected of her. But did that really compensate for how shitty her life was and had always been? The skies had decided to open up on her last delivery of the night, and she’d had to traverse the city in the rain with only a windbreaker to keep out the chilly, Michigan weather. 

Normally, Mackenzie was prepared for such things. After a life of hardships and struggles, she prided herself in her ability to be able to take whatever was thrown at her. She was always somewhat prepared, whether that came in the form of having a little money saved away for when medical bills came up or keeping extra shoes in her locker at the bar she also worked at in the instance someone spilled beer on her sneakers. Today, however, was not one of those days. Today was the day that life had totally come out of nowhere and had knocked her clear on her ass.

A fight with her asshole of an on-and-off-again boyfriend resulted in her being late for her first delivery and had also ensured that she’d forgotten a change of clothes for her shift at the bar later. She hadn’t grabbed her rainboots, and had also walked out the front door with her hair still in a ratty ponytail that she’d slept in. Monday’s were never her thing, but this Monday was proving to be especially vulgar. 

The only reason that Mackenzie even put up with Ben was the fact that he let her stay in his 2 bedroom apartment free of charge, in the event that she cook his meals and tidy up the place after her multiple jobs during the day. It wasn’t a bad system, but it was one that oftentimes left Mackenzie running on empty and found her passing out on the couch most nights after she cleaned because she was too tired to make it to her bedroom. However, it was something she had to live with because she simply couldn’t afford her own living space. Living with Ben was hell, as he was an asshole most of the time who thought he was God’s gift to young, pretty, single women. There were times he tried things with Mackenzie, but she’d already learned her lesson and tried her hardest to fend him off. Dealing with his ass was a necessary evil when she couldn’t afford an apartment of her own.

So, that was her situation now. Monday? Not the greatest day of the week. However, there were 4 other weekdays to follow that could promise something a little better. The only upside of Mackenzie’s shit-storm of a day had been her last delivery. She’d gotten the order to some fancy office building, and the woman who’d taken the order hadn’t been too bad herself. Mackenzie hadn’t been blind to the stares she’d received, and it actually made her heart race a little. She’d forgotten what it had felt like. To be seen. To be desired. To be looked at like she was something other than a meal on wheels. 

But, she’d left as soon as her job was done, because her other job was about to start and she couldn’t be late for that. Henry was a nice enough man, but he did have a bottom line to fill and late employees wouldn’t help him get there. So, after dropping off her last delivery, Mackenzie had high-taled it in the rain to the local bar to begin the late shift. 

When she walked in, no one greeted her and she immediately headed to the staff room to change her shoes(which she’d been smart enough to keep in her locker) and put on her uniform apron. Today, she’d be on table and floor duty. Management never trusted her to work the register or the actual bar, so she was stuck to the grunt work until some other unfortunate soul took her job. Mackenzie grabbed the dish tray on her way out from the back and began her shift as usual.

The bar wasn’t too busy tonight, tonight being a Monday night after all, but it was still lively enough. She wove between tables, collecting plates and glasses here and there to deposit them in the kitchen sink, where she’d later wash them. Things went smoothly, no one paying her too much attention, and that was how she liked it.  
Mackenzie didn’t consider herself attractive enough to really warrant any attention. She was a little on the shorter side, and her strawberry blonde hair was always tied back in a boring ponytail to keep it out of her face as she worked. Her eyes, she guessed, were her most interesting aspect, a vibrant blue breaking up the monotony of her other mundane facial features. But other than that, she considered herself part of the background and had never felt inclined to stick out anyways.

She was nearing the third hour of her shift when life began to play favorites again. Robert. Robert was the kind of handsy, dirty guy that girls always made an effort to avoid. He looked greasy all the time, and his short, pudgy figure did nothing for him. He showed up to work high most of the time, and always made it a point to sidle up to every female co-worker during his shift. Of course complaints had been brought up with Henry, but it was his nephew after all and he turned a blind eye.  
As Mackenzie was clearing glasses from the bar, she felt a hand travel across her back from shoulder to shoulder. She tensed, and turned to see Robert coming to lean on the bar beside her. His hair was particularly oily today, though Mackenzie thought it could’ve also been the rain outside. 

“Hey, Mackenzie! Long time no see! How’s life treating ya?”

His words were slightly slurred, and this was the greeting he always gave her, no matter if he had asked her the same question the previous day. But, Mackenzie had to grin and bear it lest she be on the streets looking for a new job. She continued to stack glasses and dirty dishes into her bin.

“Same old same old, Robert. Life is great and I’m loving every minute of it.”

Either the sarcasm didn’t compute with his tiny brain or he was too faded to comprehend any reasonable conversation because Robert just stood there with a stupid grin on his face for a couple seconds before he leaned in a little closer. His breath was rancid, and Mackenzie hurried to grab the last of the silverware so she could escape to the other side of the bar. 

“I heard that boyfriend of yours is giving you shit for late hours and whatnot. Scared that you got a little something-something with a co-worker, whatever that means.”

Robert was now drunkenly sliding along the side of the bar to follow Mackenzie as she worked. His hands, thankfully, stayed by his sides, but his eyes were unfocused and were travelling up and down Mackenzie’s body as she bent over the surface to collect dishes. She tried to ignore him like she usually did, hoping and praying that he lost interest and moved on to other, more attainable prey. Having finished stacking dishes, she turned away to continue to the kitchen. Robert followed her, steps a little slow and uncoordinated. He crashed through the swinging door behind her, and Mackenzie’s heart stopped as she realized that there was no one else in the kitchen besides them. Robert crashed into her from behind as she came to a halt a couple feet into the kitchen, and he caught both of her arms to spin her around to face him. The entire tray of silverware, plates, and glasses slipped from her hands and came crashing down to the floor in a cacophony of broken pottery and glass. 

“Don’t you dare go about thinking that you’re better than the rest of us, sweetheart.”

Face inches from hers, Mackenzie had no choice but to stare into Robert’s bloodshot eyes with something acute to shear terror. His fingers were like claws digging into her arms, but she was too scared and too weak to do anything about it. The man towered over her and she inadvertently made herself even smaller by haunching over in panic. She could say nothing.

“The only reason you’re still employed is because I haven’t yet had my fun with you. Your boyfriend is right to keep you on a tight leash, though. We wouldn’t want anything to… Happen to you.”

Robert’s eyes raked down her body, and a chill ran all the way up Mackenzie’s spine. The man loosened his grip a little, and raised one hand to tenderly caress her cheek. Mackenzie tried to recoil, but the other hand kept her in place and turning her head to the side was all she could manage. Robert huffed a little laugh as his fingers ventured down her chin and across the bare skin of her neck and chest, where her t-shirt didn’t cover. Goosebumps trailed after his touch. 

Having seemingly had his fun, Robert dropped both hands and chuckle as he began to lopsidedly walk towards the door which he had followed her through. Still petrified, Mackenzie just stood there in the empty expanse of the kitchen, broken dishes on the floor around her feet. As the door began to swing shut after Robert, he turned with a little puff of amusement.

“I’ll be taking those dishes out of your paycheck. Better hope Henry hears nothing of this.”

And he was gone, leaving Mackenzie in the wake of his aftermath like a forgotten toy. Life was unfair, and life was cruel. What power had she pissed off to be treated this way? What had she done in a past life to deserve this? But now, Mackenzie did the only thing she could. She fell to the floor on her knees, and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Still setting things up, but I hope to get the actual story line and plot going within the next 1-2 chapters. Please be patient with me and my 2 braincells as we try to tell this story, because I am SO soft for these two girls.


	4. Just Another Friday Night

Admittedly, these types of situations weren’t Alex’ forte. She felt much more comfortable in an environment where she had time to plan. To think things out. To write an email and have the ability to proofread it 6 times before it was actually sent. But put her somewhere where she had to think on the spot and actually interact fate-to-face with… people. Yike. That was something else entirely. 

Currently, it was a Friday night and what better way to spend such an evening than in the company of the devil, partaking in all of his vices at the local bar. One could commit each and every deadly sin on Friday, and still go into work Monday morning singing church hymns. At least, that was the plan. It had been somewhat of a rough week for Alex, but not in the business sense. In fact, she’d been able to approve a design project early and the whole production phase was several weeks ahead of schedule. Profits were up, and she’d been able to leave the office at a decent hour every day this week. No. It was the emotional part of her week that had fucked her over and had forced her to go to the extremes.

Ever since Alexis had laid eyes on that cutie earlier that week, she’d known that she was a goner. Every waking moment had been consumed with those blue eyes and thoughts of what Alex had to do to be able to see them again. Commendably, Alex had resisted the urge to make anymore online food orders, but she’d only done so because she’d been too scared to think of what would happen if it hadn’t been Mackenzie who had shown up with her order. The engineer didn’t know how she would handle the disappointment, so she did what she knew best. She ignored her problems for the entirety of five whole days, and now she was being dragged out on a Friday night by her ‘best friend’ to ‘cheer up’. 

“C’mon. You look fine. You’re going to have all the girls fawning over you, but that won’t matter if we don’t get there before the next ice age hits. Let’s go!”

Catherine had pretty much been the best and only friend Alex had made in her many years at university. Days full of back-to-back classes and nights full of studying and stress-eating hadn’t been conducive to any social life, and Alex had never been the most outgoing person to begin with. But enter Catherine, a fun, colorful architecture major with a loud personality and even louder fashion sense, and Alex may have found the perfect balance to her honestly monochromatic lifestyle at the time. Years later, the two were still best friends, soulmates they might even say, and often joked that if they weren’t married by the time they were 30, they’d marry each other. Because hey. It didn’t make sense that these two perfect, gorgeous souls go to waste.

But right now, it seemed that Catherine was about ready to beat her ‘soulmate’s’ ass if said ass didn’t get moving.

“Don’t even worry about your hair. If you take some lucky bastard home tonight, it’s not going to matter anyway. All you need is some chapstick and your shoes. Alex, let’s goooo.”

Cat was draped over the foot of Alex’ bed, arms thrown over her head in exasperation as she watched her best friend try on blazer after blazer, trying to find something that didn’t make her look like she was walking into a courtroom or a business meeting. The whole point of them going out was to relieve a little stress and let of a little steam, but the plan wasn’t necessarily going as anticipated. It was already past 9 o’clock, and they needed to be there five minutes ago. 

Alex stripped the last offending jacket off, bunching it into a ball and hurled it at Catherine, who caught it stuck out her tongue.

“Nice try, Alex.”

She tossed the blazer to the floor, along with the others, and rolled off the bed to stand up, running a hand through her blonde hair which was impressive given the amount of hairspray it had in it. The woman just grabbed Alexis by the wrist and proceeded to drag her through her bedroom door and out into the main area of the house. At this point, Alex was just ready to put her pajamas on and curl up in bed for a Harry Potter marathon, but she knew not to mess with Cat and her plans. Thus, she allowed herself to be dragged along like a puppy. Catherine simply grabbed a set of keys from the kitchen table and proceeded to make her way to the front door with Alex in tow. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed a jacket off the coatrack and tossed it back to her friend. Catching it with one hand, Alex stared at the flannel in confusion. 

She glanced at Cat’s 6 inch heels, which matched nicely with the little green dress she was wearing, and her black sweater, and then looked down at her own fitted black jeans and sneakers. Damn, she felt like carrot sticks next to Catherine’s four-course meal, but she trusted that Cat knew what she was doing and decided to just follow along. Alex swung the flannel over her shoulders and slipped her arms through the sleeves. Her hands immediately found the deep and familiar pockets at her side, and she was relieved to find that there was already an old stick of chapstick in one of the pockets and a dozen or so hair ties in the other. With said ammunition in her pockets, Alex was now ready for whatever the night might throw at her. With that, she wordlessly followed Catherine out into the night for what was bound to be an evening full of nothing but debauchery and drunken bliss.

~ ~ ~

Friday’s at the bar were always something to behold. The shift on Friday nights were never for the faint of heart, and there was even a wall in the staff room that was dedicated to pictures taken of each and every stupid thing that drunk idiots thought was a good idea. As of right now, Mackenzie’s personal favorite was the snapshot of some unlucky patron who had had trouble remembering which drink was his and had decided that putting straws in his drink as a way to identify it was a good idea. The issue was that he kept forgetting if he had indeed put a straw in his drink, and the picture on the wall showed a man with his glass full of about 30 straws while he was yet unwrapping another one. 

But other than those few and far between instances of hilarity, there was no way to sugar coat it. Friday shifts were flaming dumpster fires full of shit. Everything was in flames and everything just smelled god-awful. It was nearing 9:30pm and the night was just beginning, but Mackenzie had already had to change her shirt twice because of tipsy bar-goers who couldn’t keep their drinks in their glasses. She also had her ass smacked no less than 3 times by some sirly, drunk gentlemen who felt they were entitled after a long week at work, and to make matters worse, she was the only one on table duty because the girl who was supposed to work tonight had called in sick. Mackenzie knew that was B.S. Ashley was probably off at some other bar right now making bedroom eyes at whoever would spare her a glance.

So all in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty shit night. Mackenzie told herself that she only had to make it until midnight and she’d be free to go home and sleep the next day away. By some miracle, she never had to work Saturdays, and those were the days that her boyfriend Ben had stayed over at his friends’ house for latenight video game tournaments. So, Mackenzie had the whole apartment to herself for the day and she got the most out of it that she could. But, that blissful reality was still several, long hours away.

The woman went about collecting various dishes and cups, trying to ignore the wildly inappropriate behaviors that were happening around her, instead trying to pick which movie she would indulge in tomorrow. At this point in the night, her sneakers were drenched and smelt strongly of beer, sloshing whenever she put her foot down. But, less than 3 hours to go. She could do this.

The door to the bar jangled open and Mackenzie let loose a short breath of something almost akin to frustration. Why were so many damn people out on Friday nights? Wouldn’t they rather just stay home with popcorn and a good movie or game night? If Mackenzie could, she would’ve already been dressed in a soft, oversized shirt and fuzzy socks, eyes glued to the television and whatever movie she had popped in. Never in a million years would she be out, by choice, at a local bar drinking her woes away.

Sure, it had been a rough week. Robert hadn’t spoken to her at all after Monday, but his sleazy eyes had found her at every opportunity. But she still didn’t feel the need to justify her crap week by knocking back some shots at the end of it. She would never understand the people who felt they did. But, she couldn’t judge. What people did with their free time was their decision. Not hers.

As she silently collected an impressive amount of beer bottles from a college kids’ table, she looked up to see who had walked into the bar. At first glance, Mackenzie had to roll her eyes at the woman who had just walked in with her tiny green dress, fancy heels, and poofy blonde hair. This was definitely not the establishment where people cared if you looked like that or not. This was the kind of place where people came looking for a decent beer and a decent fuck afterwards. So, the woman and her long-ass legs poking out from under the slip of fabric immediately stuck out like a sore thumb. Someone was definitely taking her home tonight, but all that extra effort wasn’t really needed.

It was the second woman by blondie’s side that made Mackenzie hesitate for a moment. She wouldn’t have been able to forget those dark brown eyes even if she tried. It was the woman at the office building she’d run into on Monday. The one who hadn’t been able to stop staring. What the fuck was she doing in a place like this? Business men came here all the time, but in Mackenzie’s fantasy, this woman had been too kind, too established, too good to end up at the local bar on a Friday night. Mackenzie felt her heart crumble a little as she realized that the woman who had made her heart stir after a long while was probably here for the same reason everyone else was. The fantasy Mackenzie had let herself indulge in this week of actually being seen by somebody, of being desired, disintegrated around her. Sometimes, people were cruel. But life was always an asshole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, peeps! Sorry for the wait. As y'all know, life's been kind of crazy and I just haven't had the time to actually sit down and put thought into this story. Good news, the introduction to all of the characters is coming to a close and we'll get some actual good plot soon. Please keep reading and tell me what you think! Love y'all. Stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! I hope to update this quite frequently, but let me know if you guys have any thoughts, suggestions, or advice. Sorry that this first chapter was a little dry, but I needed to establish some things before we REALLY get going... I'm always open and appreciate the not-so-human interaction. Please give these two smol beans your love, because they totally deserve it. Love you guys!


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